Data MaskingData Masking API

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Data Masking is a powerful tool for detecting and masking sensitive information in text. It can identify and redact emails, phone numbers, SSNs, credit cards, IP addresses, URLs, and dates.

The Data Masking API provides reliable and fast access to data masking data through a simple REST interface. Built for developers who need consistent, high-quality results with minimal setup time.

To use Data Masking, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

POST Endpoint

URL
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking

Code Examples

Here are examples of how to call the Data Masking API in different programming languages:

cURL Request
curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}'
JavaScript (Fetch API)
const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
})
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
Python (Requests)
import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

payload = {
    "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}

response = requests.post('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking', headers=headers, json=payload)

data = response.json()
print(data)
Node.js (Native HTTPS)
const https = require('https');
const url = require('url');

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
};

const postData = JSON.stringify({
  "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
});

const req = https.request('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking', options, (res) => {
  let data = '';
  res.on('data', (chunk) => data += chunk);
  res.on('end', () => console.log(JSON.parse(data)));
});

req.write(postData);
req.end();
PHP (cURL)
<?php

$ch = curl_init();

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'POST');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
    'X-API-Key: your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type: application/json'
]);

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode({
    'text': 'Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789.'
}));

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);

?>
Go (net/http)
package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io"
    "net/http"
    "bytes"
    "encoding/json"
)

func main() {
    payload := map[string]interface{}{
        "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
    }

    jsonPayload, _ := json.Marshal(payload)
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking", bytes.NewBuffer(jsonPayload))

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Ruby (Net::HTTP)
require 'net/http'
require 'json'

uri = URI('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

payload = {
  "text": "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request['X-API-Key'] = 'your_api_key_here'
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'

request.body = payload.to_json

response = http.request(request)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(JSON.parse(response.body))
C# (HttpClient)
using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        using var client = new HttpClient();
        client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here");

        var jsonContent = @"{
        ""text"": ""Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789.""
}";
        var content = new StringContent(jsonContent, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

        var response = await client.PostAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking", content);
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

        var responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
        Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
    }
}

Authentication

The Data Masking API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

Required Header
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the Data Masking API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The following parameters are available for the Data Masking API:

Some Data Masking parameters marked with Premium are available exclusively on paid plans.View pricing

Mask Sensitive Data

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionDefaultExample
textstringrequired
The text containing sensitive data to mask
-Contact John at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567
typesPremiumarrayoptional
Array of data types to mask (default: all types)
["email","phone","ssn","credit_card","ip_address","url","date"]["email","phone","ssn","credit_card","ip_address","url","date"]

Response

The Data Masking API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:

Example Responses

JSON Response
200 OK
{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "masked": "Contact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN].",
    "detected": {
      "email": 1,
      "phone": 1,
      "ssn": 1,
      "credit_card": 0,
      "ip_address": 0,
      "url": 0,
      "date": 0
    }
  }
}
XML Response
200 OK
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <masked>Contact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN].</masked>
    <detected>
      <email>1</email>
      <phone>1</phone>
      <ssn>1</ssn>
      <credit_card>0</credit_card>
      <ip_address>0</ip_address>
      <url>0</url>
      <date>0</date>
    </detected>
  </data>
</response>
YAML Response
200 OK
status: ok
error: null
data:
  masked: Contact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN].
  detected:
    email: 1
    phone: 1
    ssn: 1
    credit_card: 0
    ip_address: 0
    url: 0
    date: 0
CSV Response
200 OK
keyvalue
maskedContact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN].
detected{email:1,phone:1,ssn:1,credit_card:0,ip_address:0,url:0,date:0}

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
statusstringIndicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error")ok
errorstring | nullContains error message if status is "error", otherwise nullnull
dataobject | nullContains the API response data if successful, otherwise null{...}

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

FieldTypeSample ValueDescription
maskedstring"Contact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN]."-
detectedobject{...}-
â”” emailnumber1-
â”” phonenumber1-
â”” ssnnumber1-
â”” credit_cardnumber0-
â”” ip_addressnumber0-
â”” urlnumber0-
â”” datenumber0-

Headers

Required and optional headers for Data Masking API requests:

Header NameRequiredExample ValueDescription
X-API-Keyrequiredyour_api_key_hereYour APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys.
Acceptoptionalapplication/jsonSpecify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml
User-AgentoptionalMyApp/1.0Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes
X-Request-IDoptionalreq_123456789Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests
Cache-Controloptionalno-cacheControl caching behavior for the request and response

Learn more about request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access Data Masking through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the data masking data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Test Data Masking in the GraphQL Explorer to confirm availability and experiment with queries.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

GraphQL Endpoint
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql
GraphQL Query Example
query {
  datamasking(
    input: {
      text: "Contact John Doe at [email protected] or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
    }
  ) {
    masked
    detected {
      email
      phone
      ssn
      credit_card
      ip_address
      url
      date
    }
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The Data Masking API supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) with wildcard configuration, allowing you to call Data Masking directly from browser-based applications without proxy servers.

CORS HeaderValueDescription
Access-Control-Allow-Origin*Accepts requests from any origin
Access-Control-Allow-Methods*Accepts any HTTP method
Access-Control-Allow-Headers*Accepts any request headers

Browser Usage: You can call Data Masking directly from JavaScript running in the browser without encountering CORS errors. No proxy server or additional configuration needed.

Learn more about CORS support →

Rate Limiting

Data Masking API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. These limits ensure fair usage and maintain service quality for all Data Masking users.

PlanRate LimitDescription
Free5 requests/minHard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors
StarterNo LimitProduction ready - standard traffic priority
ProNo LimitProduction ready - preferred traffic priority
MegaNo LimitProduction ready - highest traffic priority

Learn more about rate limiting →

Rate Limit Headers

When rate limits apply, each Data Masking response includes headers to help you track your usage:

HeaderDescription
X-RateLimit-LimitMaximum number of requests allowed per time window
X-RateLimit-RemainingNumber of requests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix timestamp when the rate limit window resets

Handling Rate Limits

Free Plan: When you exceed your rate limit, Data Masking returns a 429 Too Many Requests status code. Your application should implement appropriate backoff logic to handle this gracefully.

Paid Plans: No rate limiting or throttling applied. All paid plans (Starter, Pro, Mega) are production-ready.

Best Practices for Data Masking:

  • Monitor the rate limit headers to track your Data Masking usage (Free plan only)
  • Cache data masking responses where appropriate to reduce API calls
  • Upgrade to Pro or Mega for guaranteed no-throttle Data Masking performance

Note: Data Masking rate limits are separate from credit consumption. You may have credits remaining but still hit rate limits when using Data Masking on Free tier.

Error Codes

The Data Masking API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure:

CodeMessageDescriptionSolution
200OKRequest successful, data returnedNo action needed - request was successful
400Bad RequestInvalid request parameters or malformed requestCheck required parameters and ensure values match expected formats
401UnauthorizedMissing or invalid API keyInclude x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard
403ForbiddenAPI key lacks permission or insufficient creditsCheck credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan
429Too Many RequestsRate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min)Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan
500Internal Server ErrorServer error occurredRetry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists
503Service UnavailableAPI temporarily unavailableWait and retry, check status page for maintenance updates

Learn more about error handling →

Need help? Contact support with your X-Request-ID for assistance.

Integrate Data Masking with SDKs

Get started quickly with official Data Masking SDKs for your preferred language. Each library handles authentication, request formatting, and error handling automatically.

Available for Node.js, Python, C#/.NET, and Android/Java. All SDKs are open source and regularly updated.

Integrate Data Masking with No-Code API Tools

Connect the Data Masking API to your favorite automation platform without writing code. Build workflows that leverage data masking data across thousands of apps.

All platforms use your same API key to access Data Masking. Visit our integrations hub for step-by-step setup guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an API key for Data Masking?
Sign up for a free account at dashboard.apiverve.com. Your API key will be automatically generated and available in your dashboard. The same key works for Data Masking and all other APIVerve APIs. The free plan includes 1,000 credits plus a 500 credit bonus.
How many credits does Data Masking cost?

Each successful Data Masking API call consumes credits based on plan tier. Check the pricing section above for the exact credit cost. Failed requests and errors don't consume credits, so you only pay for successful data masking lookups.

Can I use Data Masking in production?

The free plan is for testing and development only. For production use of Data Masking, upgrade to a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Mega) which includes commercial use rights, no attribution requirements, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. All paid plans are production-ready.

Can I use Data Masking from a browser?
Yes! The Data Masking API supports CORS with wildcard configuration, so you can call it directly from browser-based JavaScript without needing a proxy server. See the CORS section above for details.
What happens if I exceed my Data Masking credit limit?

When you reach your monthly credit limit, Data Masking API requests will return an error until you upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle. You'll receive notifications at 80% and 95% usage to give you time to upgrade if needed.

What's Next?

Continue your journey with these recommended resources

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